Festivals and Events in Ladakh

Ladakh festival and various monastery festivals are the prominent festivals in Ladakh that are celebrated with much fervour and fanfare all over Ladakh.

Ladakh Festival: A week long cultural festival organised by the government to promote the region’s unique heritage. The Ladakh Festival focuses on the different aspects of Ladakhi life, its art, crafts and culture, its music and dance. The festival features processions, archery contests, polo matches, music and dance performances, as well as a parade of traditional Ladakhi costumes.

Monastery Festivals: The Buddhist monasteries play a pivotal role in the life of the community and each monastery celebrates its festival with the usual prayer for the well being of the community and the universe. The festival at the monasteries of Shey and Thikse fall within a few weeks of each other and include invocations and prayers.

The Metukba Festival is held in July, the Shey Shublas, the harvest festival comes in August. On their tail comes the Thikse festival that is celebrated with a fair held in the monastery grounds.

The two-day Nagrang Festival is held during Losar (February), part of the Tibetan New Year celebrations.

Hemis Festival: In the warm summer month of June (or sometimes in July), when the weather is perfect for a gala event, the Hemis Festival is held - it is an explosion of noisy music, blaring trumpets, masked dances, dragon dances and plenty of cultural activity.